Instructor’s Notes “Eddie Kit” #1 Spiders—Our Friends Subjects: Math, writing, science, social studies, reading, critical thinking and life skills Activities: 1. Use the ―If you could…‖ worksheet to discuss how different creatures have special characteristics which enable them to perform spectacular feats. On the first example, a female spider can scurry 33 times her body length in one second. As a math extension, ask students to find how fast they could scurry the length of a football field using their own body length if they had the same ability. An example of this using an average female height of 5’5‖ (65 inches) would be to multiply 65 inches X 33 (length a spider can scurry in one second). Have students interchange inches for feet and also figure the reverse or change all the measurements to metric. 2. Brainstorm fears they may have. Then discuss spiders as a common fear. Have students complete the ―Have no Fear‖ worksheet as a practice in algebra in a ―non-fearful‖ setting. 3. Divide the class into groups. Have each group read the handout on arthropods entitled, ―Spiders and Insects: What’s the Difference?‖ Each group will then complete the venn diagram comparing Spiders (Arachnids) to Insects. Put the facts that are only about Spiders in the Spider circle. Put the facts that are only about Insects in the Insect circle. Put facts that are common to both in the center. Use the transparency of the venn diagram to write the answers of all the groups on it. 4. Have the class work in groups and complete the ―Let Spiderlings Fly‖ experiment. 5. Read the poem, ―Psychoanalysis of a Spider‖. Discuss the scientific aspects of the poem as well as the author’s dramatic use of symbolism. Ask students to write a poem about spiders or about a fear they have. A haiku or an acrostic poem may be a good way to start. An example of a feeling poem is included and is a good type of poem to use for this activity. 6. Look through the handout on tarantulas throughout the world or research types of spiders and where they are found using the internet as a resource. Have the students locate these different countries on a globe. Discuss how environment and evolution may affect different types of spiders and where they are located. Ask students to speculate how a spider could move from continent to continent. 7. Have the students do the ―Spider Venom Makes Bug Soup!‖ spider experiment. 8. In pairs, do the spider experiment ―Spiders’ Feet Don’t Stick to their Webs!‖ 9. Working in pairs on the laminated geoboard, have the students make as many paths as they can for a spider to get to its prey. You can’t go back or retrace a step. How many paths did you make? Can there be more? Additional activities are provided if you would like to explore more activities with geoboards. 10. Review the handout on the origins of ―Little Miss Muffet‖. Discuss how our societies’ values concerning females have changed. Branch out into a discussion on the 19th amendment (women’s suffrage) and the impact on our way of life. Further extensions could be geography—where is England; or who ruled England during this period (Queen Elizabeth I) and the difference between a monarchy and a democracy. (There is a home visit activity that corresponds with this activity.) 11. Use the spider diagram as a graphic organizer to start a ―webbing‖ activity for writing. Students could write a 5-paragraph essay describing spiders or they could write about a fear they have and how they have or would like to overcome this fear. 12. Talk with students about which spiders in our area are dangerous, how to minimize the presence of spiders in a home and how to determine if you or your child has a spider bite. Read and discuss the ―Spider Bite Safety Sheet‖. This handout is also included in the Home Visits Packet. 13. Read and discuss the handout ―A Spot of Speed Puts Spiders in a Spin‖. An extension of this handout could be the effects of drugs on: driving a car, memory, taking care of children, etc. 14. Encourage reading by making a spider bookmark. This activity is also in the Home Visits packet. Activity #1 (Part 1 of 2) If you could…. scurry like a spider a female house spider can move 33 times the length of its own body in 1 second lift like an ant an ant can lift 50 times its own weight leap like a frog a frog can hoop 20 times its body length eat like a shrew a shrew can eat 3 times its weight daily jump like a flea a flea can jump 70 times its own height grow like a fetus an average human fetus increases its weight about 3½ billion times from the time of conception to the time of birth (about 9 months) This information was adapted from the book, If You Hopped Like a Frog, by David M. Schwartz. Activity # 1 (Part 2 of 2) Considering its length, a female house spider is faster than any other animal, even a cheetah. It can move 33 times the length of its own body in 1 second! 1. How far could you move if you had the same ability to move 33 times your own length in 1 second? 2. How long would it take you to run the length of a football field? (100 yards) 3. How fast could you run a mile? (5,280 feet) 4. How far could you run in a minute if you could keep up that pace? Activity # 3 (Part 1 of 2) ARTHROPODS Spiders and Insects: What’s the difference? While most people think arachnids (the group that includes spiders) are insects, they're actually altogether different creatures. However, insects and arachnids are both arthropods (segmented animals). Arthropods include an incredibly diverse group of animals such as insects, crustaceans, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes. The phylum takes its name from its distinctive jointed appendages. By nearly any measure, the most successful animals on the planet are the arthropods. They have conquered land, sea and air, and make up over three-fourths of all currently known living and fossil organisms. So…what are the differences between insects and spiders? In school, we are taught that insects have six legs and spiders have eight, and that insects have three body parts while spiders have only two. Otherwise, these two animals seem pretty similar. Right? As a matter of fact, many people call all of them insects. Let’s make a comparison between spiders and insects. All arthropods have a stiff cuticle made of chitin and proteins, forming an exoskeleton. Insects have antennae but spiders never do. Both insects and spiders are small terrestrial animals. Insects possess jawlike mouthparts (mandible), whereas spiders have clawlike mouthparts (chelicerae) for killing or handling food and a sucking pump for drinking fluids. All spiders have fangs and most kinds have poison glands. Insects as well as spiders have a body cavity filled with blood that is pumped by a heart. They also have the same type of nervous system and muscles. Spiders have a cephalothorax (combined head and thorax) and an abdomen. Insects have a separate head, thorax and abdomen. Spiders have appendages on their abdomens, such as spinnerets, whereas insects do not. All spiders spin silk and most create webs so they can catch insects for their food. Most spiders possess ―book lungs‖ which are internalized and modified gills. Insects use tracheae or branching tubes that lead directly to their interior tissues. Most insects have wings, but spiders never do. Spiders are helpful to people because they eat harmful insects that can destroy crops. Spiders also eat flies and mosquitoes that carry diseases. Activity # 4 Let Spiderlings Fly Objective: To demonstrate how baby spiders use air currents to disperse. Have you ever gone out in the early morning and seen fine, glistening threads throughout the lawn? These are trails of silk produced by very young spiders. Many common spiders produce eggs that hatch in fall, and the young, known as spiderlings, typically disperse by an innate behavior called "ballooning." Ballooning involves production of threads of silk that are attached to the spiderling. These threads produce enough drag to catch the wind and carry the young spiders, sometimes for very long distances. For example, spiderlings have been known to drift onto boats more than 200 miles offshore, and others have been picked up by airplanes in samples taken 10,000 feet above ground. The silk produced by young spiders is sometimes referred to as "gossamer." When a very large hatch of spider eggs occurs, the gossamer may mat over large areas, appearing as a thin sheet. Spiders that hunt, including wolf spiders and jumping spiders, usually produce eggs that hatch in fall. Other spiders produce egg masses that hatch in spring. Materials: Scissors Sewing thread Ruler Glue Six ¾” tissue paper bits of different colors Procedure: 1. Working in groups, cut 18 pieces of thread, each about 6 inches long. 2. Glue 3 threads to each tissue bit. Fold the tissue over on itself and let the glue dry. These are your six spiderlings. 3. Lay the spiderlings together on the table. Lean toward the table so that your mouth is close to but not touching the spiderlings. Blow hard! Watch those baby spiders fly! Go one step further: Your breath gusted the spiderlings to new areas, some farther than others. Now simulate a gusty spring or fall wind by using a hair dryer (set on cool) on the spiderlings.